10/27/1782 - 05/27/1840
Niccolo (or Nicolo) Paganini (27 October 1782 – 27 May 1840) was an Italian violinist, violist, guitarist, and composer. He was one of the most celebrated violin virtuosi of his time, and left his mark as one of the pillars of modern violin...
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01/23/1910 - 05/16/1953
Jean "Django" Reinhardt (23 January 1910 – 16 May 1953) was a pioneering virtuoso jazz guitarist and composer
Nick Drake (Nicholas Rodney Drake)
06/19/1948 - 11/25/1974
Nicholas Rodney "Nick" Drake (19 June 1948 – 25 November 1974) was an English singer-songwriter and musician. Best known for the sombre pieces composed on his primary instrument, the guitar, Drake was also proficient at piano, clar...
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02/21/1933 - 04/21/2003
Eunice Kathleen Waymon (February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003), also known by her stage name Nina Simone, was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger, and civil rights activist widely associated with jazz music.
Simone aspired to...
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01/15/1909 - 05/16/1973
Gene Krupa (January 15, 1909 – October 16, 1973) was an influential American jazz and big band drummer and composer, known for his highly energetic and flamboyant style.
Count Basie (William Basie)
09/21/1904 - 04/26/1984
William "Count" Basie (August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. Basie led his jazz orchestra almost continuously for nearly 50 years...
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Elliot Smith (Steven Paul Smith)
08/08/1969 - 10/21/2003
Steven Paul "Elliott" Smith (August 6, 1969 – October 21, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. Smith was born in Omaha, Nebraska, raised primarily in Texas, and resided...
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03/21/1940 - 10/10/2010
Solomon Burke (March 21, 1940 – October 10, 2010) was an American singer-songwriter, entrepeneur, mortician, and an archbishop of the The House of God for All People. Burke was known as "King Solomon", the "King of Rock ...
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08/29/1920 - 03/12/1955
Charles "Yardbird" Parker (born August 29, 1920, Kansas City, Kan., U.S.—died March 12, 1955, New York, N.Y.) American alto saxophonist, composer, and bandleader, a lyric artist generally considered the greatest jazz saxophonist. P...
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Bud Freeman (Lawrence Freeman)
04/13/1906 - 03/15/1991
Lawrence "Bud" Freeman (April 13, 1906 - March 15, 1991) was a U.S. jazz musician, bandleader, and composer, known mainly for playing the tenor saxophone, but also able at the clarinet. He was one of the most influential and important ja...
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08/13/1951 - 12/16/2007
Daniel Grayling "Dan" Fogelberg (August 13, 1951 – December 16, 2007) was an American singer-songwriter, composer, and multi-instrumentalist, whose music was inspired by sources as diverse as folk, pop, rock, classical, jazz, and b...
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11/05/1931 - 12/12/2007
Ike Wister Turner (November 5, 1931 – December 12, 2007) was an American musician, bandleader, songwriter, arranger, talent scout, and record producer.
07/06/1924 - 02/14/2009
Luigi Paulino Alfredo Francesco Antonio Balassoni (July 6, 1924 – February 14, 2009), better known by the stage name Louie Bellson (his own preferred spelling, although he is often seen in sources as Louis Bells...
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Buddy Rich (Bernard Rich )
09/30/1917 - 04/02/1987
Bernard "Buddy" Rich (September 30, 1917 – April 2, 1987) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. Rich was billed as "the world's greatest drummer" and was known for his virtuosic technique, power, groove, and sp...
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